Cremation Mix-Up

A Batesville funeral home faces a temporary suspension after a paperwork issue resulted in it reportedly cremating a wrong body.

The Arkansas State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors held a special meeting Wednesday in which they suspended Willis Funeral Services.

KARK reported the formal suspension from the state says the funeral home cremated the wrong man on October 3rd. The funeral home says it didn’t know this was coming until we called Wednesday afternoon.

According to the funeral home’s attorney, the VA hospital had two bodies and accidentally switched the men’s identities. One man was picked up by a different funeral home and was embalmed. The other was taken to Willis Funeral Service and cremated.

According to a temporary suspension order filed Wednesday, the state inspected Willis Funeral Service on December 5 and found a number of paperwork errors.